This is a conspicuous and beautiful wildflower in the arid West, its flowers generally standing above any nearby shrubs. All other species have yellow flowers without hairs except White Desert Plume (S. albescens), which has hairs on the inside of its white petals. It occurs from northeastern Arizona to west-central Colorado and northwestern New Mexico.

The genus was named in honor of Lord Edward Stanley, a former President of the Linnean Society. The species pinnata describes the feathery appearance of the lower leaves.